麻豆社

Richard D James, better known as Aphex Twin, has remained one of the most elusive artists in the music industry since he emerged in 1991.

The mystery that surrounds him may have something to do with his upbringing in Cornwall, where strong traditions of myth-making exist. This intrigue has created an obsessive fan base across the globe and dozens of rumours have circulated, from him living in a bank vault in the middle of Elephant and Castle, to stories about him owning a submarine and being able to write music in his sleep after training himself in the practice of lucid dreaming.

Listen to music journalist, and editor of The Quietus, John Doran as he attempts to disentangle the man from the myth in the documentary The Cult of Aphex Twin.

Here are seven more intriguing musicians who shunned the spotlight…

Frank Ocean was propelled onto the world stage after the release of his critically acclaimed 2012 album Channel Orange. But then he disappeared. Rumours grew online as people called for a follow up release, with fake ‘missing person’ posters asking for his whereabouts. Then, in August 2016, a mysterious live stream appeared on the website boysdontcry.co which showed Frank Ocean woodworking on some benches in a large hall. The video eventually confirmed that a visual album called Endless would be released on Apple Music later that month. Endless was followed a day later by Ocean’s second studio album Blonde.

Kate Bush shot to fame in 1978 when she released Wuthering Heights, knocking Abba’s Take A Chance On Me off the top of the chart in the process. Having been discovered and mentored by Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour, she emerged on the scene with extravagant songs and music videos. Despite this fame, she is famously private and has shied away from performing for the majority of her career until she announced a residency at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2014 – her first live dates in 35 years.

R&B singer H.E.R. rose to fame on SoundCloud with her albums H.E.R. Volume 1 and H.E.R. Volume 2, and even gained fans like Rhianna, who featured one of H.E.R.’s tracks on her Instagram in 2017. H.E.R. largely kept her real identity a secret, releasing her albums with shadowy cover art, which only featured her silhouette. Though it is now known that her real identity is the artist Gabi Wilson, she still has two separate Twitter accounts for each of her personas.

William Onyeabor became famous for his electro-funk releases whilst living a life of mystery. He self-released eight records between 1977 and 1985, pressing them himself in a studio in Nigeria, before he stepped away from music after becoming a born-again Christian. In 2013, David Byrne’s world music label Luaka Bop released a compilation album titled Who Is William Onyeabor? and he became a highly sought after star. Despite his reluctance for fame he has gained fans like Damon Albarn and Four Tet. In 2014 he gave his first radio interview with 6Music’s Lauren Laverne, which you can listen to here…

The two brothers have remained elusive, despite the anticipation that surrounds their music. Jai Paul was tipped to be an up-and-coming artist back in 2007, but disappeared after his unfinished album was leaked in 2013. Three years later his brother gained popularity after A. K. Paul released his debut single Landcruisin’. At the end of 2017, they surprised many of their fans by sending out a text message to everybody on their mailing list with a ‘cypher pass’ and instructions on how to hear two new tracks from artists who had signed to their new venture The Paul Institute.

Sixto Rodriguez, often referred to as the ‘Latin Bob Dylan’, was a musician who gave up his quest for stardom after both of his albums failed to do well in America. He vanished form the industry, without realising that his music had started to become hugely popular in South Africa. Though many people believed that Rodriguez had died in an on-stage accident, one fan became determined to find out what happened to him. In 1997, Stephen ‘Sugar’ Segerman set up a website called The Great Rodriguez Hunt. Segerman teamed up with a journalist, Craig Bartholomew Strydom, and together they located Rodriguez, who had been working in Detroit at the time. Since then, Sixto Rodriguez has toured all over the world, and a film has been made about his experience, called Searching for Sugarman.

Australian singer-songwriter Sia rose to fame with songs like Chandelier and Elastic Heart – their striking music videos featured young dancer and lookalike Maddie Ziegler. Despite her global success, she has maintained an air of mystery by covering her face with large blonde wigs whilst in the public eye. One major exception to her desire for privacy came at the end of 2017, when paparazzi attempted to sell naked photos of her. She Tweeted the photos herself, saying: “Someone is apparently trying to sell naked photos of me to my fans. Save your money, here it is for free. Everyday is Christmas!”